Yesterday ( Sunday) was a sad day for Okun people of Kogi state as bandits numbering over 50 invaded an ECWA church Aiyetoro Kiri in Kabba bunu local government during a church service shot sporadically killing one and abducted 30 worshippers including children and pregnant women.
The Aiyetoro Kiri church attack yesterday makes second of the attack in the community as bandits recently invaded the sleepy community , abducted 50 people and carted away dozens of phones in a charging center .
These attacks have created great fear for the residents with most of them now relocating from the community .
Also bandits also separately attacked Oke-Agi and Ilai communities in MopaMuro local government councils in a coordinated manner and abducted over 40 people
Our correspondent reliably gathered on Sunday that the attacks which occurred at about 4:00 am on Sunday left several people dead, others injured, and some residents abducted.
Armed bandits were said to have struck two locations almost simultaneously, operating for more than an hour before distress calls were eventually received.
In the first incident, Jamroro settlement, located between Oke-agi and Takete Isao and largely inhabited by Tiv people, was attacked. Two persons were confirmed killed, while three others sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
The second attack occurred in a Bassa community near Ilai Grammar School, less than one kilometre from Ilai town. One person was reportedly killed during the raid, while three others were kidnapped by the attackers.
The incidents were confirmed by the Chairman of Mopamuro Local Government Area, Hon. Ademola Bello, alongside traditional authorities and community leaders from Oke-agi and Ilai.
Residents and community sources expressed deep concern over the delayed response to the attacks, noting that the assailants operated freely for over an hour before help was alerted.
The renewed violence has heightened fear across the area, with residents calling on security agencies and government authorities to urgently deploy decisive measures to curb the rising wave of coordinated bandit attacks in Mopamuro and surrounding communities.
As of the time of filing this report, local officials were said to be with the injured victims at the hospital.
Meanwhile, all efforts to speak with the Kogi State Police Command Public Relations Officer SP William Ayah on the attack proved abortive as his phone lines cannot be reached.
